


The Little Merman

by Marluna



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Magic, mermaid wonpil dowoon and sungjin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:01:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23452900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marluna/pseuds/Marluna
Summary: Humans are gross, terrible, horrendous creatures that can only hurt.So Wonpil wants to know why Jae is the most beautiful person he's ever met.
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K & Park Jaehyung | Jae, Kim Wonpil & Park Sungjin, Kim Wonpil & Yoon Dowoon, Kim Wonpil/Park Jaehyung | Jae
Comments: 4
Kudos: 76





	1. maybe i kinda love you

The sky is beautiful. It always has been and always will be to Wonpil. It's big and blue and full of mysteries. So is the sea. But the sea can't change color like the sky can. It can't become angry and gray, flashing yellow, making loud, booming sounds. The ocean can't make cute, fluffy white things like the sky can. And even the stillest of oceans will never be as calm and sweet as the baby blue of the sky on a clear day. The ocean does not radiate warmth, that soft and soothing feeling that Wonpil could bask in forever.

The sky is beautiful. The surface is beautiful. And so is the boy with the circles on his face.

Wonpil wouldn't dare talk to him. He's a human, and humans do nothing but cause harm to others. That's why it's not safe to go above the water anymore. Because humans hurt merfolk, always. Even still, he likes the boy with the circles on his face. Loves him, even.

Merfolk are not allowed to go to the surface. If they do, they risk exposing the entire population. But sweet Wonpil was caught by temptation, curious as to what lay above the surface. The ocean is beautiful, but what about the rest of the world? He would swim to the beach near his underwater village and he would find an empty stone ledge. No one ever went there, it was always void of life. So Wonpil had made it his place. And when he was bored and lonely, he would go there and he would wonder. Wonder what it's like to always see the sky, to be able to look at it without fearing for your life.

It was about a month after Wonpil had discovered it that the boy with the circles had arrived. He had started going there every other day. He didn't stay for too long, so Wonpil wasn't too bothered. Actually, Wonpil liked it when he came. He made Wonpil wonder. Wonder what humans are really like. Are they as bad as everyone says? Because the boy always looks so peaceful, and calm. He looks gentle. But also lonely. He always gazes at the water, and Wonpil isn't sure why. But he doesn't mind, because the other boy has beautiful eyes.  
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It is four months after the boy appears that Wonpil happens to be caught by him. It's an honest mistake on a day when Wonpil is watching the white fluff float by. In the sky is a half circle. It's cute and it's colorful and Wonpil wants to know more about it. He gets so caught up in thinking about it that he doesn't hear the _crunch crunch_ of footsteps on gravel behind him. By the time he notices the other, it's too late. He's already been seen, the other boy letting out a "Who are you?"

Wonpil had never turned around so fast, his eyes widening in fear. He immediately makes to dive back into the water, but the human reaches out and grabs his wrist. Wonpil feels his heartbeat pick up as he turns back to the other boy, who also looks scared for some reason. "Please wait!" he calls out. "I won't- won't hurt you so please!"

The first thing Wonpil notices is that he speaks the same language as merfolk. The second thing he notices is that the other boy seems to have trouble speaking it. He doesn't say some words right, but he's still understandable.

"I'm not allowed to be here," Wonpil says quickly. "I'm not supposed to be talking to humans. Please don't tell anyone you saw me," Wonpil pleads.

"I won't! I promise I won't tell anyone about you! So, can you please stay and... be my friend," the human replies. The last bit he says quietly, a whisper. Wonpil barely hears him. He had thought about pretending he didn't hear that part because a human and a merperson? Friends? That wasn't a thing and all humans were horrible. But Wonpil makes the mistake of looking at the humans eyes, and they look lonely. Wonpil can't find it in him to say no completely.

"... Okay... But only for today!" Wonpil responds, trying to sound more intimidating than he actually is. Despite the lack of enthusiasm Wonpil shows for the situation, the other boy smiles. Wonpil hadn't ever seen him smile before. But it's a very nice one, and to his dismay, he finds that he likes it a lot.

"Okay! That's fine with me!" the human boy says, nodding his head. He sits down beside Wonpil now. And now that Wonpil has a more upclose view of the other boy, he can see that the circles are not just circles. They're thin and yellow and they're surrounding some glass. They're connected to a small thin yellow line that disappears behind the boy's ear. "You're staring at me," the human says, breaking the silence that was looming over them.

"And you're still holding my wrist," Wonpil points out, raising their hands to show the human.

"Oh. Sorry," he says, and he lets go. Wonpil is aware that now is his chance to get away. But something about how content the other is makes him stay.

"You seem like you're nice," Wonpil says when the human immediately lets go of him. "And a little too trusting. I can run away, you know."

"I know. But I feel like you're the kind of person that keeps their word," the human replies. Wonpil isn't sure what to say to that. So he just says a very lame _oh._ in response. The human looks at him now, examines his pink fish tail. Wonpil feels a little uncomfortable, still wary about the boy. But luckily, the boy looks up again. "So, you're really a merman?"

"Y-Yes," Wonpil replies reluctantly. "You won't tell anyone you saw me right?" The other boy presses his thumb and pointer finger together in front of his lips, moving them from one end to the other. Wonpil tilts his head and furrows his eyebrows. He's never seen anyone do that before. "What does that mean?"

"What? This?" the boy asks. He repeats the motion and Wonpil nods quietly, anticipating the answer. "It just means I won't tell anyone. It's supposed to be me zipping my mouth, so nothing can come out," he explains.

"What's zipping?"

That day, Wonpil learns a lot about humans. Particularly Jae. 'Jae' is the name of the human boy with circles, but Wonpil finds out that they're actually called 'glasses' and are supposed to help him see better. He learns that Jae is 11 (only two years older than him!) and recently moved from America, all the way across the ocean. He learns that Jae speaks more than one language, and is more comfortable with the other. Jae has an older sister, a mom, and a dad (just like him) and that he plays a thing called the guitar.

And he finds out that Jae is very nice, and very different from how all the adults say he is. And Jae promises him that if he comes again in two days, Jae will bring his guitar and play for him.

Two days later, he goes back and he learns some more things. Like that Jae has a very nice voice and he wants to be a singer when he grows up.

Tentatively, Wonpil shares some things with Jae too. Like whether or not they eat fish (they do) and how they sleep (on very nice and soft sea foam beds). He tells Jae about the games he plays with his friends Dowoon and Sungjin, and he tells Jae about mermaid school. In turn, he gets to learn about the sky, the sun, and the land. He gets to eat some human food, and it's very good. Jae gets to eat some merfolk food, and he thinks it's good too.

Before Wonpil knows it, he looks forward to the human boy's visits. So far, humans are not like what the elders tell him. So far, he likes humans.  
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Jae and Wonpil become friends, and they become friends fast. Before either of them know it, they know just about everything there is to know about each other's culture. They both smile a lot more now, although they don't realize it. And they both look forward to every other day, questions on their mind and things they'd like to share prepared.

There are some things they don't explore. Some things are too embarrassing to ask, some things are hard to ask. They avoid these topics. Until four years later, on Jae's birthday. They had met at the usual spot. Jae had brought a piece of cake for Wonpil, something the younger boy had come to like quite a lot. In the midst of his treat, Wonpil had barely noticed Jae looking at the water with a troubled expression. He ran his thumb over the seashell necklace Wonpil had made for him (it was a little sloppy to be honest, it was Wonpil's first time making jewelry). "Wonpil," the boy called out.

Wonpil looked over at him curiously. When Wonpil had met Jae, he had black hair. But now his hair was yellow, _blond_ , he had called it. He said it was cool with humans. Wonpil had asked Jae about dying his own hair, to which the older said he should probably ask for permission first. Wonpil had yet to bring it up with his parents. He didn't know how to ask without mentioning Jae. "Yeah?" Wonpil asked before shoveling a piece of cake into his mouth.

"I want to know... um, how- how do mermaids uh... affection?" Jae asked. He was very nervous, not able to look at Wonpil. Affection wasn't really a thing that the two had ever talked about.

Wonpil tilted his head curiously, chewing the soft pastry. Once he swallowed, he answered. "What do you mean by that?" Wonpil asked.

"Like, how do you guys show each other affection?" Jae rephrased, although it wasn't much different from the original. "Like, when we're friends with someone and we care about them, we hug. Like this," Jae said, awkwardly hugging Wonpil in order to demonstrate what he meant. Thankfully, Wonpil had been on the surface long enough for his upper body to dry off. His tail, unfortunately, was always going to be slimey. It was a fish thing.

This... hug thing was not something that mermaids did. But Wonpil liked it a lot. Wonpil had never really touched Jae before. Wonpil can probably recall the times they've touched on one hand. The first day they met when Jae had grabbed his wrist, the time Jae laughed so hard he accidentally almost fell into the water and Wonpil had to catch him, the time Jae had let Wonpil touch his hair (tentatively), and finally today, when Wonpil had brushed hands with Jae giving him the necklace. All this with the hug made five. This hug, probably, was Wonpil's favorite.

Jae pulled away before Wonpil could really react. "You're cold," Jae said, scrunching up his face. Wonpil laughed.

"You're warm. I like it," Wonpil replied. Then he thought about what Jae said, and he furrowed his eyebrows. "If humans hug when they're friends with someone they like, how come you've never hugged me before?" Wonpil asked, worried.

"Some humans are just awkward with physical affection. I'm one of them," Jae answered. Wonpil found that absolutely adorable, for some reason. "Anyways, answer my question now," Jae added.

"Oh yeah! Well, mermaids don't hug. Instead, we do this," Wonpil said. He leaned over and placed a kiss on Jae's cheek. He felt Jae's cheek warm up immensely, and he pulled away. Maybe it was because he's a human, Wonpil thought at first. But upon pulling away, he realized that Jae's cheeks had become a red hue. Kinda like the angry guy in a comic Jae had brought for him once. "Sorry!" Wonpil was quick to blurt out, not having wanted to make Jae uncomfortable. "But since you hugged me, I thought it was alright to-"

"I-It's okay," Jae interrupted, his cheeks still flushed. "Some humans do that too, but mostly we only do that with people that are our family or... uh, our girlfriend or boyfriend," Jae explained.

"O-Oh."

"Yeah. But you didn't do anything bad so don't be sorry."

Wonpil's not sure why he says what he does next. But he's curious and he really wants to know. "Do you prefer a boyfriend or girlfriend?"

"... Did you just... You really just asked me what my sexual orientation is right after kissing me. You're a bold man, Kim Wonpil."

Now Wonpil blushes, his face heating to temperatures he didn't even know it could become. "It's not like that!" he exclaimed.

"Not like what?"

"What- You know what I mean!"

"Do I? Or did you just assume what I meant?"

"Jaae!" Wonpil whines. "You're mean and I'm leaving."

"Wait, no!" Jae exclaims between giggles. In order to make sure the younger doesn't in fact run away, he grabs his arm. Wonpil pouts at him until he finishes laughing, sitting up straight. He clears his throat and tries to keep a straight face. "I prefer boys. I mean, I'm fine with girls, nonbinaries, and every other gender classification, but mostly I like boys," Jae says.

"Nonbinary?" Wonpil asks, tilting his head.

"People that don't associate with any particular gender," Jae explains.

"Oh. Hm, I wonder if we have nonbinary mermaids," Wonpil muses to himself.

"And you? What do you prefer?" Jae asks.

"Oh, me? Um... well, I like boys better too," Wonpil replies. Jae starts to laugh again. "What?"

"So you're out here, kissing me, a boy, and asking me if I like boys or girls better. Not to mention, you also like boys."

"Jae, stop!"

Their day ends in giggles and pouts and promises to see each other again soon. The next time Wonpil sees Jae, he engulfs him into a tight hug. He gets Jae's clothes all wet, the older complaining. But he lets Wonpil hug him some more later when Wonpil is dry, so it's not a total loss.  
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"So, Wonpil. You've really never seen the night sky?" Jae asks. They're discussing the best time of the day. Jae had randomly asked Wonpil. He was there early, even though it was a school day and he has visited yesterday. Plus today was supposed to be a special day, his graduation. He is 17, going on 18 in a few months. Wonpil is 16 and he has known Jae for 7 years.

In those 7 years, Wonpil had developed feelings for the older boy. He hadn't realized it until one year ago when Jae had asked him if he loved anyone. Wonpil had realized then that he loved Jae, but perhaps a different love than he held for any of his friends or family. But he couldn't ever actually be with Jae, because Jae was a human and he was bound to the earth. Wonpil was a merman, and he was bound to the sea.

"Never seen it," Wonpil confirms with a nod of his head.

"You should. It's beautiful," Jae said. Wonpil hummed, staring at Jae pretty openly. Jae had dyed his hair yet again. It was black with stripes of red in it. He looked good, Wonpil thought. He was wearing a white shirt with another shirt on top. Unbuttoned, a blue, white, and red striped shirt. He was no longer wearing his glasses, having traded them out for contact lenses after some guy called "Brian" had encouraged him.

Jae looked at Wonpil, who had opted to stay in the water today. "Can you come out at night?" Jae asked.

"I'm not even supposed to be here in the day time," Wonpil replied with a laugh.

"You come out just to see me? I'm touched," Jae said, putting a hand over his chest. "But actually, if you can, could you? Come meet me here later tonight?" Jae asked.

"Well... I guess so, yeah. Why though?"

"Don't you trust me?" Jae asked. Wonpil nodded his head slowly. He did, but this was the first thing Jae had ever actually requested of him. And it seemed like a funny thing to request. "It's a surprise. I have something important to tell you and give you, so make sure you come, okay?" Wonpil nods in understanding.

"Okay, I'll come then," Wonpil agrees.

"You promise me, right?" Jae asks. He sticks out his pinky for a promise. Wonpil pulls his own hand out of the water to wrap it around Jae's. "Good," Jae says, standing up when they release. "I have to go to school for graduation practice now. But I'll come see you later for sure, okay?"

"Okay."

And just like that he's gone. Wonpil thinks he should go kill some time too, so he goes to his underwater village to see his other friends.  
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"Wonpil-hyung... I'm sorry but I'm not moving," Dowoon says. He's blocking the way out of Wonpil's room, literally floating in the doorway. "I can't believe that you've been seeing a human. You know what they do to us, don't you?" Dowoon asks.

"He's not like that, Dowoon!" Wonpil exclaims, trying to push the other. But Dowoon is adamant on staying where he is.

"But he's asking you to come see him at late hours! It's dark out, Wonpil-hyung. You don't know what he's going to do, or who he's going to bring," Dowoon says. Wonpil knows that the younger is just watching out for him. Dowoon always has, in his own way. But what he needs right now isn't for Dowoon to try to protect him from something that won't ever happen. "Sungjin-hyung!" Dowoon calls out to the older male who is sitting on Wonpil's bed.

Wonpil turns around to look at Sungjin pleadingly. Sungjin looks at the two and sighs, unsure of who he should be supporting. On the one hand, Dowoon is right. But on the other, not going to this meeting will kill Wonpil.

"Let us go with you then," Sungjin suggested. Wonpil shook his head.

"No! Then he'll think I don't trust him!" Wonpil protests. He huffs and crosses his arms. "I can understand where you and Dowoonie are coming from, honestly, I can. But Jae has been my friend for seven years! He hasn't ever hurt me."

"You're too trusting. You do realize that this could be a ploy to gain your trust and make you lower your guard, right?" Dowoon argues. Wonpil turns around to argue back.

"I said he's not like that!" Wonpil exclaimed, frustrated.

"Wonpil, you either take us or you don't go at all," Sungjin said.  
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When Wonpil surfaces, he looks around anxiously. He knows he's extremely late, and this thought is only reinforced by the fact that Wonpil doesn't see anyone. True to their word, Sungjin and Dowoon don't surface from behind him. "Jae!" he calls out. He waits a few moments, but he recieves no answer.

Wonpil feels his eyes tear up. He regrets ever going home. He should have just stayed. If he stayed, then maybe he would have met with Jae. But now he's broken his promise and he feels terrible.

He swims a little closer to the platform that Jae is usually sitting at. Jae is still not there, but he does find something. He finds a pretty pink pearl necklace, which Wonpil remembers telling Jae about a few weeks ago when he had asked how mermaids go about courting each other. It's made of real pearls, unlike the pearl necklace Jae had shown him a few years back. Wonpil's touched, and is almost afraid that he's going to take things the wrong way. But when he gets closer, he realizes that there is a paper under the necklace.

He knows from experience what happens to paper when you get it wet. So he picks it up by the very corner, being careful not to wet it too much. He sees a variety of messages. Some saying just congratulations, some giving long messages about what a good friend or student Jae is. But a lot of those have been crossed out in favor of a hastily written:

_Wonpil, I don't know if you'll find this, but if you do, it's for you. I made it for you so I want you to have it. I won't be able to court you though. I'm going somewhere far away, but I'll be back soon. You don't have to wait for me if you don't want to, I understand. But at least don't forget me._

_Brian is rushing me now, so I can't stay. I promise though, I'll come back as soon as I can._

_p.s. thanks for being my first friend here. Maybe I kinda love you_


	2. definitely, I love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I absolutely did get lazy at the end

"Are you seriously still out there?" Younghyun's voice asks through Jae's phone. It's 2 AM and Jae has been sitting out here in the cold for four hours now. He's just waiting for Wonpil. But he can't deny that he's getting sleepy, and he can't say that he isn't a little worried that Wonpil's gone and changed his mind about meeting up with Jae. "Jae, it's 2 AM. Go home."

"I can't. He hasn't come yet and I can wait a little longer," Jae insists. The yawn he involuntarily lets out betrays him. Younghyun sighs on the other end. Jae can hear him thinking.

"You need to get up early tomorrow don't you? To go to college?" Younghyun asks. Jae nods, then realizes Younghyun can't see him.

"I do. What about it? I'll be fine," Jae replies. He looks out at the sea as he does. He's still waiting, still waiting.

"Who even is this guy, Jae? You keep talking about him but you've never told me who he actually is," Younghyun says. Jae hums, debating on what he should tell Younghyun. Of course, the mermaid thing was out of the question. He wasn't going to betray Wonpil's trust like that. "Well?"

"To put it simply, you don't know him anyways, so there's nothing you can gain by me telling you who he is," Jae answered. He reached his hand into his jacket pocket again, fiddling with the string of pearls in his pocket.

The truth is, Jae had been planning to ask Wonpil out for a long time. He had asked him a few weeks ago how mermaids go about dating each other. Was there some special ritual or what? Wonpil was happy to answer. There is a bed of special oysters (you'll know it's them by the pink sparkles on their shells when they're in water, just normal magical stuff) that live near the surface. In order to start courting someone, you need to prove your bravery and how far you would go for them by obtaining pink pearls that the oysters produced. You needed at least one, but more pearls expressed more interest in the person. Basically, the longer you're willing to stay there and the more of this rare treasure you're willing to obtain for your loved one, the more you show the lengths you'll go for them.

At first Jae was a little dismayed. How could he get out to sea and get the pearls for Wonpil? That was dangerous for him, as much as it was the mermaids. Jae could die, honestly. So he took it as a move from fate when he found the few pink sparkle oysters with pink pearls in them washed up at shore. And he made his own necklace for Wonpil.

So, fate helped him with the pearls, but it wasn't helping him now at two in the morning. "... ae!"

"What-"

"Did you fall asleep just now or were you ignoring me?"

"I was just thinking about things," Jae responded dismissively. He could hear Younghyun hum on the other line. Jae still had all his stuff with him. He had taken off his graduation gown (it was uncomfortable), but he still had his graduation cards and his balloons and his candy necklaces. "Do you really think he isn't coming?" Jae asked. He pulled out a pen (a gift from one of his friends that told jokingly told him he might do better at school if he would stop running out of lead and stop using tiny wooden pencils). He scribbles on one of his graduation cards absentmindedly, drawing whatever came to mind.

"If he is, he's extremely late," Younghyun answers. 

"Hm... I don't think so. I don't remember telling him what time he should come out... What if he thinks _I_ stood him up? But then.. nah, Wonpil wouldn't think that, right?"

"I keep asking, who even is Wonpil?"

"And I keep saying, none of your business." Jae lets out another involuntary yawn. Younghyun catches it, even if they aren't together.

"Okay, enough. Jae, go home. Or I swear I will come get you myself."

"You're gonna hop out of bed for me?"

"Yes, before you get sick or roll into the ocean in your sleep!"

"Okay, okay, fine. Fine, I'm going now. Just give me a second."

"Why?"

"I need to write something for him."

"2:20 AM is no time for poetry."

"Hypocrite. It's only gonna take a second!" Jae hastily scribbles out all the farewell messages on his card. He's thankful, but he's in dire need of paper to write on. Once he's satisified, he starts to write out a note for Wonpil. A goodbye and a promise to come back some day. 

"I know he's the love of your life or whatever but a little faster please."

"I'm almost done!" Jae exclaims. He caps his pen, reads over the paper. He lets out a curse and uncaps it again. He ends his note with a thank you and a confession. "And, there. All done."

"Great. Are you going home now?"

"Well... yeah, I guess. Anyways, I have some things I need to think about still, so I'm hanging up now. Bye."

"Bye." There is the clicking sound of Jae ending the call. He puts his phone in his pocket. He leaves behind the string of pretty pink orbs that he's certain he could sell for a fortune, but what does that matter? Money is nice, but he would rather have Wonpil. He lets out a sigh, and looks back at the ocean. He doesn't see any sign of Wonpil, so he turns on his heel and he walks away.

He's on his way away from the beach when his mother calls him to ask where he is, if things went alright with that boy. He opens his mouth to speak, thinks he hears someone say his name very faintly. He turns around, eyebrows furrowed. Could that be...? "Jae?" No, it can't be.

"Sorry, mom. It went... well, it didn't. He didn't come at all."

"Oh, Jae..."

"It's okay." And he leaves the beach, for the last time until he can come back. It will be a while, but he promised.

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Wonpil doesn't ever take off the necklace. It's all he has left of Jae. He doesn't know how long Jae will be gone, and he doesn't have the heart to check. Sometimes Sungjin will check for him, but Wonpil never gets his hopes up. Because every time he does, he is met with disappointment, and his heart hurts all over again. He wishes he could back to that day, a few months ago. Wishes he could go back, could have met Jae while he was there. He wonders how long Jae waited for him before giving up. It hurts, it hurts a lot. What if he never comes back again because he thinks Wonpil hates him?

Wonpil only goes out when he has to, which is actually pretty often. When people ask who his partner is, he's not afraid to tell them it's Jae, a human. Because he doesn't want it to be anyone else. Some people don't say anything, some scold him for exposing the existence of mermaids to a human boy. Doesn't Wonpil care about their secret at all?

Well, no, he doesn't. But he nods along anyways. He makes a point never to apologize though, because he isn't sorry. Not a bit.

It happens when he's at work one day, he meets a strange woman. Actually, she's a regular. He works at a candy shop, and it's quite popular. Dowoon's parents own it and hired Wonpil since he's friends with their son. The lady comes often, but she never says anything to Wonpil aside from "how much for one of these?" and "thank you". Which is fine by Wonpil. She's a well known sea witch, which is rare on its own. Magic users are uncommon and are said to be very scary and even cruel.

But today the lady is in an especially good mood. "Thank you for always being so nice to me, young man," she says to him. Her voice is very raspy, like always, but Wonpil can still make what she says out. "Is there something I can do to help you?"

"Huh? Uh, no, I'm okay," Wonpil tells her with a smile. Having a nice smile is a must for customer service, and he doesn't want to be the reason the Yoon family loses a customer.

"But you're not. I can tell, you know."

But Wonpil shakes his head. "I'm really fine."

The old lady hums. "Then, have this," she says, reaching into her bag. When her hand comes out of the small black pouch (that is bigger than it looks), she is giving him a golden starfish. It glows a little, and Wonpil thinks it kinda looks like the stars Wonpil saw once a long time ago on one of Jae's essay things.

Wonpil hesitates but she doesn't retract her hand. He takes it, not sure what exactly to think. He doesn't really need a starfish. Who really needs them, no offense. "Thank you?"

"Hehe, it's not just a normal starfish," the lady says, as though she can read his thoughts. It makes him a little uneasy and he wishes she would stop doing it. Because it's really creepy. "Hm, well, it's a wishing starfish. If you tell it a wish of yours before you go to sleep and sleep with it under your pillow, it will grant it. But it only grants one wish," the old lady informs him. Now, magic may not be common, even for mermaids. But it's present enough for Wonpil to be skeptical because he's never heard of this.

"Um, are you sure I can have it then?" Wonpil asks.

"That is what I said, isn't it?"

"It just seems kinda rare is all."

"It is rare. These can only be found once every fifty years and must be cultivated carefully, after all. I cultivated it when I was young and daring, but my age has caught up with me and I no longer have need for it."

"You can still have wishes, even if you're old."

"Excuse me?"

"I- Sorry! Okay, I'll just... take it..."

"Good. Then, have a nice day, young man." With that, she leaves and Wonpil is left with a shining yellow starfish. He's sure it can't be real but then, surely the witch wouldn't be lying... right?

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Wonpil laid in bed, eyeing the star in his hands. It was too bright in his dim room, but he couldn't take his eyes away. "It'll grant my wish, huh?" He still couldn't believe it. But at the same time, he wanted to. He turned the star over in his hands, as though there would be something on it to indicate if the sea witch was lying or not. He still didn't know why she would give him something so valuable. Was it cursed? Was it going to kill him? What if... What if she is using it to watch him right now and is planning to break into his house and steal all his stuff and then off him!

"No, no, no! That's- That can't be-" Wonpil was talking to himself, frustrated and scared. He didn't know what he should be thinking, honestly. "I haven't done anything wrong to her so why would she want to attack me? And, well, she seems nice..."

Wonpil lets out a huff and holds the star up again. He might as well give it a try right? If she was planning on hurting him, then she would do it whether he made a wish or not. "Fine. Okay." Wonpil took in a deep breath, preparing himself for what would happen next. "I wish... I could be with Jae again forever."

Wonpil watched the starfish to see if it would change or anything. The animal did, in fact. It glowed a little brighter than it did before, and now it was too much. Wonpil winced and put the starfish under his pillow. It was much better without the luminescent creature in his face.

He fell asleep nervously, the blanket tucked around him. He went to sleep with dreams of the stars, the view he had months ago. Jae was right, the night sky is beautiful.

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"Jae! It's been a while!" Younghyun exclaims, pulling the taller man into a hug. Jae pat his friend on the back. It wasn't that he felt weird about talking to Younghyun again after three months. They texted a lot. It was that Jae never was one for physical affection, it made him feel awkward.

"Hey, good to see you again," Jae says, pulling away. "So how is your business program going?" Jae asks.

"Good. It's coming along. How about political science? Everything you imagined?"

"Not at all."

"Oh yeah? Are you still pursuing it?"

"Might as well, right?"

"Are you going to the beach again?" Younghyun asks. It's a really sudden topic change and Jae is caught off guard.

"Well... yeah, it was my favorite place," Jae replies.

"And I'm guessing you still don't want company."

"You guess right," Jae responds, patting Younghyun on the shoulder. "Man, you know me so well. Anyways, I'll text you when I'm done, yeah?"

"Yeah. See you later, Jae."

"See ya."

Younghyun and Jae go their separate ways. The taller walks down the road to the beach. He can't help the twisty feeling he feels in his gut as he walks. He still remembers his graduation day and how Wonpil hadn't shown up. What if he didn't come by anymore? What if he never got the note and he did think Jae had stood him up all this time? What if, what if, and more what ifs plague Jae's mind. He contemplates turning around and never going back. But the thought that maybe Wonpil is still waiting there stops him from doing it.

Because what if Wonpil is still waiting for him after all? What if Wonpil did feel the same? Would he still, now that four months have passed?

Jae walks down the familiar path. It's been four months, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten the way to his special spot. It's near where the evergreen trees grow by the sand. Cut through a little path between them and follow the faint, barely there trail. Keep going until you reach the rocky terrain, and keep going still until you see the little slope. And the little slope will eventually flatten out and become a pretty big platform.

It was there that Jae spent so much time with Wonpil. He would go there so often, almost every day. And even though four months had gone by, it was like nothing changed.

Except... something had...

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Wonpil wakes up on a hard, cold surface. He does not feel his pillow and he does not feel his sea foam mattress. What he _does_ feel is a cold breeze blow past him.

But, what? There is no breeze under the sea. Only above. Wait... above?

Wonpil shoots up, opening his eyes as fast as his tired body will allow him. He looks down. He sees... rock. He looks around. He is not at home. He is at the place he had been avoiding. His blanket is still there at least, albeit very cold and soaked and it hurts his lower body for some reason. But now that he thinks about it...

He moves the blanket off of his body in a panic, and low and behold... He has human legs, and something else that makes him embarrassed just looking at it. He throws the blanket back on top of him, his cheeks flushed red. He grabs for his neck and is relieved that at least his necklace is still there.

So... he's not a merman anymore. This is just some big joke, right? The witch is just playing a joke on him. Maybe if he enters the water...

He scoots over to the edge of the rock platform and dips his legs in. Only to immediately pull them out. The cold of the water is freezing, almost as if it's biting him. Wonpil is worried. "O-Okay, sea witch, can you change me back now?" Wonpil calls out. He recieves no response. All he hears is the ocean's waves, and he's dismayed. What is he going to do? He has a job, and a life and-

Well, then again... didn't he ask for this? He did tell the star he wanted to be with Jae _forever_. Didn't that mean he would have to give up his life as a merman?

"Wonpil?"

In his panic, Wonpil hadn't noticed the footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around and his eyes widened in disbelief. Now Jae was back too? This had to be some kind of dream. And at any moment now, he was going to wake up.

"Uh. Jae?"

"Holy shit, it is you. What are you- Why are you-"

"I don't know! I just- I don't know..."

"You don't know why you're naked?"

"I! No! I don't!"

Jae probably would have teased Wonpil more if the younger were not actually on the verge of crying. So instead of teasing him, Jae went to sit beside him and give him an awkward hug. He just held Wonpil and let him cry. Wonpil hugged Jae back and came to the realization that he might have missed Jae more than he thought.

"Hey, please don't cry. It's all going to be okay, alright? We'll figure whatever is going on together, alright?"

Yeah, Wonpil missed Jae a lot more than he thought.

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Once Wonpil had finished crying, he relayed the story to Jae. Any other human would have told Wonpil to get help, but Jae wasn't any other human. Jae was the very same human who had discovered him seven years ago when he was still a merman and had to come to terms with merfolk existing. He was the very same human who had discovered the glittering pink oysters and harvested their pink pearls. So, Jae had no choice but to believe him.

They both agreed that it wouldn't do to just leave Wonpil naked, so Jae ran to his car really quickly. He hadn't yet gone to his parents' place, so all his clothes was still in his car trunk. He grabbed a random outfit and brought it to Wonpil, who hadn't realized until then that humans don't change clothes in front of each other. Jae had shyly looked away and Wonpil had caught on and apologized profusely for not being more cautious.

Once he was dressed, Jae brought him back to the beach. They had to practice walking a little bit. Wonpil looked a little funny, Jae's clothes were a little too big on him. But they weren't so big Wonpil couldn't handle it. He would be fine.

"So, in short, you wished to be with me forever, and became a human?" Jae asked, making sure he got their conversation correct.

"Y-Yeah," Wonpil responded with a shy nod.

"And you've kept my pearl necklace this whole time? Or... is that someone else's?"

"It's not someone else's! It's yours."

"Really?"

"Really."

"That's cute. So, do you have any plans?"

"Well, no."

"I could... probably convince my parents to let you stay with us for a bit. Since I'm only staying for the summer anyways. If you're not uncomfortable with it."

"Hm... I'm a little nervous. Are you sure they'd be okay with it?"

"Well, why not? We could treat it as like, you meeting my parents," Jae says.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Is it not normal to introduce your friends to your parents for humans? Shouldn't they already know me?"

"I mean... you can introduce them to each other. Mine have only met one of my friends though, so it's not super common. But my boyfriend should especially meet my parents, right?"

Wonpil stopped in his tracks at that. Jae stopped too, a few steps ahead of him and turned around. "Boyfriend?" Wonpil asked, blinking at him in confusion.

"Well, yeah. That's what you accepting the necklace means right?"

"Right, yeah."

Jae smiled at him and held out his hand with something like a giggle. "Then what are you waiting for, boyfriend? Let's go meet my parents." Wonpil smiled too, nodded, and took Jae's hand. They continued on their way off the beach to Jae's car.

And, of course, they lived happily ever after.

･ ｡ﾟ✧: *.★ .* :✧˚. ･

"Oh yeah, and Jae?"

"Yeah?"

"Definitely, I love you."


End file.
